Stock Market Soars To Record Level

Stocks are soaring in early trading on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average has jumped more than 100 points, surpassing its previous record high of 14,198.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index is also within striking distance of its record close of 1,565.

Stocks have been rallying so far this year on optimism that the housing market is recovering, and that companies are slowly starting to hire again. The market is up over 8 percent all ready for the year.

The housing market is gaining momentum as it nears the spring selling season. Home prices rose 9.7 percent in January from a year earlier, the biggest annual gain since April 2006. Prices rose in all states except Delaware and Illinois.

U.S. service companies grew in February at the fastest pace in a year. The Institute for Supply Management says its index of non-manufacturing activity rose. The report measures growth in industries that cover 90 percent of the work force, including retail, construction, health care and financial services.